Arrangement of gas generators and collectors



May 11, 1948. A. KALITINSKY ARRANGEMENT OF OAS GENERATORS AND. COLLECTORS Filed April 15, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 W M mw ATTORNEY Y K 5 m W L A K A ARRANGEMENT OF GAS GENERATORS fXND COLLECTORS Filed April 15, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 mm 3 Yv 3 w ATTORNEY A. KALITINSKY 2,441,16

ARRANGEMENT 01? GAS GENERATORS AND COLLECTORS Filed April 15, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 u l f Q J Q L INVENTOR' ANDREW KALITINSKY I I I ATTORNEY P otented May 11, 1948 ARRANGEMENT F GAS GENERATORS CDLLECTORS I Andrew Kalitlnslry, Eaglcville, \Conn .asslgnor to United Aircraft Corporation, East Hartford, Conn, a corporation oi Delaware Application April 15, 19%, Serial No. 531,303

' 1 Claim. 31

This invention relates to a power plant and particularly to a burner arrangement for heating gas for use in a turbine, and also to an arrangement of the gas generators around the burner.

In power plants having a number of gas generators which may be in the form of engine-andcompressor units, all supplying gas under pressure to a. collector, the generators must be accessible for individual inspection and maintenance. It is desirable to attain this accessibility without the use of excessively long ducts in the system. A feature of this invention is the arrangement of the generators around a centrally extending gas collector, thereby providing accessibility for the individual use and minimizing the ducting and the space requirement for the power plant,

A. feature of the present invention is a simplifled combustion chamber consisting of a continuous duct into the end of which all of the gas from the collector is admitted. 4

Another feature is the arrangement of the burner duct so that the gas will be admitted to the collector externallyof the burner duct and will flow along the outer surface of the duct to assist in cooling the burner duct.

Uther objects and advantages will be apparent from the specification and claim, and from the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. l is a view of the power plant with the burner partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through one of the gas generators.

Sleeves 2d and 26 attached to the compressor pistons complete the reciprocating piston assemblies. The sleeves in combination with stationary pistons 28 and 30 form air spring cylinders.

The piston assemblies are moved apart by the burning of fuel injected into engine cylinder It through one or more nozzles 32. Air compressed in the air spring cylinders on the power stroke returns the piston assemblies. The assemblies are always maintained at equal distances from the center of the engine cylinder by a linkage, not shown.

Intake manifold M which extends around the collector.

intake valves M, Fig. 4, in the heads of the compressor cylinders through which air alternately enters opposite ends of the cylinders. The compressed air leaves the cylinders through discharge valves it, also at opposite ends of the compressor cylinders and passes into a central scavenge chamber it and end chambers 6d and 52. These chambers may be interconnected by a scavenge manifold, not show.

Compressed air from the scavenge chambers enters engine ports M and ed which are un covered by pistons l2 and id at the end of the power stroke, thereby permitting air to be blown through the engine cylinder. Gas in the engine cylinders is discharged through exhaust ports it into exhaust manifold til.

Exhaust gas from the generators is discharged into an exhaust collector 82 to which. the exhaust manifolds til are connected. In the arrangement shown, the generators are arranged in groups of four, substantially uniformly spaced about the collector, the groups being longitudinally spaced from each other along the collector. in. this way the collector extends centrally through each or the groups of generators. In the arrangement shown, each group of generators is made up of four generators and there are two groups of generators so that the collector receives gas from eight generators. With the arrangement of the generators as shown, each generator is readily accessible for inspection and maintenance, and each generator may be individually removed. from the power plant without affecting the other gencraters.

Gas from the exhaust collector passes through a combustion chamber or burner at, the discharge end of which is connected by a duct extending through an opening in the collector to the inlet of a turbine 68 or other receiver for the hot gas. If the power plant is used for aircraft the turbine may be connected through gear reduction units 88 and it, and shafts l2 and it to a shaft it on which a propeller system may be mounted.

, The burner or combustion chamber M, as

shown, is a continuous duct from the inlet end, which as shown, is slightly spaced from the end of the collector or to permit gas to enter the duct. The duct is substantially uniform in cross-sectional area throughout its length and spaced for its entire length from the walls of the exhaust Gas entering the collector from the generators flows along the outer surface of the burner duct and into the inlet end of the duct. In this way, the duct may be made of a relatively compressor and engine cylinders, conducts air to W thin material since it carries no pressure loads,

and the duct is continually cooled by the flow of exhaust gas over its outer surface.

Fuel is introduced through a, nozzle 18 at the open end of the burner duct, and is burned within the burner duct. The reversal of gas flow at the inlet end of the burner results in a turbulence in the gas at the point where the fuel injection occurs. This turbulence is favorable'ror combustion at this point. The burner is long enough so that complete combustion occurs, preferably in the straight section of the burner, and before the gas enters the duct 65.

In the arrangement shown the exhaust collector, which extends to the turbine inlet, may be surrounded by a scavenge collector 80 which re-- ceives the scavenge gas'from the generators at a pressure slightly higher than the pressure or the exhaust gases in the exhaust collector. This teature is an invention claimed in the copending Hooker application, Serial No. 531,302, filed April 15, 1944. It is suflicient to note, for the purpose of this application, that the scavenge collector is relatively cooler than the enclosed exhaust collector so that heat radiating from the exhaust collector will be absorbed to a great extent by the gas in the scavenge collector.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment herein illustrated and described, but may be used in other ways without departure from its spirit as defined by the following claim.

I claim:

A power plant including a number or free-piston engine and compressor units functioning as gas generators, and a collector to which all or the generators are connected, said generators being arranged in groups or approximately four, each group being arranged circmnferentially around the collector and the groups being spaced 5 longitudinally of the collector, in combination with ,a combustion chamber duct located within the collector and spaced from the walls of the collector, said duct having an open end spaced from one end of thecollector to provide for flow 0! gas directly from the collector into said open end, the other end of said duct extending through 'an opening in the collector, said duct being substantially uniform in throughout its length and substantially imperio- 15 rate to cause all of the gas from the generators to flow along the outer surface or the duct and \to enter the open end of the duct. ANDREW KALITINSKY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 25 Number cross-sectional area 

